There are three major formats of fonts, which are PostScript, TrueType, and OpenType.
PostScript or Type 1 fonts have been around for quite some time, and until recently, were considered the only right font format to use. These fonts use two files: a screen font and a printer font. The screen font is a bitmap component which is used only for displaying the font on the screen. This portion alone will not output a resolution acceptable for printing. The printer font contains the PostScript data necessary for printing. Both of these files must be present in order to use a PostScript font. Also, these fonts have a limited character set of only 256.
TrueType fonts were created by Apple Computers and Microsoft and differ from PostScript fonts in that they have only one font file. Years ago, RIPs weren't as powerful as they are today, and thus could not process TrueType fonts. However, today, they can be processed as quickly and easily as PostScript fonts, and they should not be looked down upon as a poor font choice.
OpenType fonts are quite special because not only are they single-file fonts, but they also are cross-platform compatible. This means that the same font file can be used on either PCs or Macs. Another plus for OpenType fonts is that they have the ability to contain up to or over 65,000 glyphs, which are different from the characters used in other font files. Glyphs are any letterform within a font, including numbers, upper and lowercase letters, punctuation marks, etc. Font designers can take advantage of the use of glyphs by creating special swashes, ligatures, fractions, and more to make fonts more specific and special. All of the pieces of the font family are now contained within one font, that is all of the glyphs are now kept together. Additionally, OpenType formats allow the possibility to contain glyphs for multiple languages.
Macintosh system fonts like Geneva, Monaco, and Charcoal and OS X system fonts like Helvetica and Times Roman are referred to as dfonts (a really technical name that isn't worth explaining). Dfonts can pose problems because they are really TrueType fonts, even though they have the exact same name as similar PostScript fonts. This can be especially problematic considering system fonts are active by default, meaning that the dfont could automatically substitute itself for a PostScript font with the same name, likely causing the text to reflow.
Multiple Master Fonts were created by Adobe to allow users to edit these fonts to include multiple weights, angles, and widths of a specific single font. However good this looked on paper, it turned problematic when users struggled to understand how to create and collect these variants. Though they are no longer used in the printing industry, they do still appear for displaying/printing of missing fonts in PDFs or displaying missing fonts in InDesign or Illustrator.
Licensing is something to be aware of when using fonts. Purchased fonts come with End User License Agreements (EULAs) that determine how a font can be used and how many workstations/printers may use the font. However, when packaging fonts to sent to a printing service, the EULA is likely being violated, as both the client and the service provider should have purchased, licensed copies of all fonts used. Some font vendors also believe that they must protect fonts even if they are simply embedded into a PDF. They do this by subsetting, a process that embeds only the characters used within the file, not the entire font. They also say that all PDFs should be set so that they may only be viewed and printed. Occasionally, the EULA could contain a "don't embed" flag, or even prevent creating outlines from the text.
Chapter 7 -- Cross-Platform Issues
File Naming is rather important when it comes to both Macintosh and Windows systems. Currently, both platforms allow a total character length of 255. With Windows, there is also a total path designation limit of 260 characters, which shows the pathway to the location of the file. File extensions are included in the file name, not the path designation.
Generally, it's best to stick to alphanumeric (numbers and letters) characters combined with spaces, underscores, and hyphens while avoiding ones like !@#$%^&*, etc. Spaces are only an issue when saving files for the Web, because they could be replaced with the characters "%20." Also, Colons and slashes should also be avoided, as they are used by the platforms to mark directory breaks. And, though it probably won't pose any problems, it's best to stay away from using periods, just in case. Finally, it's in your best interest to be aware of any combinations of characters reserved by Windows for various ports.
Similar to in the past, Mac OS X does not require file extensions to be included, but they are vital if there is any chance of transferring the files to another platform. Most of these extensions consist of a period followed by three letters, but a few longer extensions like .html (Web) or .indd (InDesign) may appear. Incorrect or absent extensions can keep a Macintosh file from being opened on a Windows system. Even though it's easy to add an extension if a problem occurs, getting into the habit of always adding them will do nothing but help.
Formats capable of crossing platforms include TIFF, PSD (Photoshop document), EPS (Encapsulated PostScript), AI (Adobe Illustrator), JPEG, and PDF.
Sources:
McCue, Claudia. "Fonts." Real World Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2009. 107-118. Print.
McCue, Claudia. "Cross-Platform Issues." Real World Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2009. 119-124. Print.
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